Buddhism's a very big religion. There are tons and tons of people in the world that are Buddhist. Buddhism began in India 2500 years ago, and later spread to many other countries, like China. Buddhism believes that life is full of a lot suffering because people want things too much. The only way to end suffering is through enlightenment. Enlightenment ends the cycle of being born, dying, and being born again. Buddhism's different in every country. There are many special ways that China practices Buddhism like their schools, funerals and festivals.
Chinese Buddhist Schools
Buddhism has many different schools in China. By schools, they don't mean a building with teachers and students. They mean different beliefs of Buddhism, like how Catholicism and Lutheran are both under Christianity, but believe in different things. The first Buddhist sc hools are the schools where Buddhism split up into smaller, different forms of Buddhism. Later, there was the Golden Age of Buddhism. The Golden Age of Buddhism happened from the time of the Three Kingdoms to the T'ang Dynasty. During this time, a lot of Buddhist schools evolved their theories based on the teac hings of Sakyamuni Buddha. The two main types of Buddhism are Theravada and Mahayana. They both believe in the main teachings of Buddhism, but they disagree on some of the smaller teachings.
Traditional Buddhist Chinese Funerals are really important practices in Buddhism. There are two main traditions that are practiced.
1. The first type of the funerals lasts 49 days. The first seven days are the most important. The number of ceremonies done depends on how rich or poor the family is.The family prays every seven days for 49 days, but it can be shorten to from 3 to 7 days. The daughter usually has to pay for the funeral. The head of the family should be there for at least the first and maybe the second prayer ceremony. The head of the family should also be there for the burial or the cremation.
2. The second type of funerals lasts over 100 days. After 100 days of prayer ceremonies are done, the final ceremony is performed. In Mahayana Buddhism, which most Chinese people believe in, they believe that there is a period between death and rebirth. This is an important period that affects what form the rebirth will take. If the family gives the right help with prayer ceremonies, the departed is more likely to have a better rebirth.
Traditional Chinese Buddhist funeral ritual http://www.buddhachannel.tv/portail/local/cache-vignettes/L500xH375/Chinese_Buddhist_Funeral_Ri-dd142.jpg
Chinese Buddhist Festivals
Buddhist Festivals are celebrated often in China. The day of the festivals are given dates that follow the lunar calendar. Festivals are "the holy days that Chinese Buddhists celebrate by visiting temples to make offerings of prayer, incense, fruits, flowers, and donations" (Buddhist Holidays). On the festival days, they follow moral rules and only have vegetarian food. Most of the festivals celebrate birthdays and enlightenment days of different Buddhas.
Dates —Festivals
8.12
—
Buddha Sakyamuni's Enlightenment Day
30.12
—
Avatamsaka Bodisattava's Day
1.1
—
Maitreya Buddha's Birthday
9.1
—
Sakra Devaraja's Brithday
8.2
—
Sakyamuni's Renunciation Day
15.2
—
Sakyamuni Buddha's Mahaparinirvana Day
19.2
—
Birthday of Kuan Shih Yin P'usa
21.2
—
Birthday of Pu Hsien P'usa
16.3
—
Birthday of Cundi P'usa
23.3
—
Birthday of Marichi Devata
4.4
—
Birthday of Wen-shu P'usa
8.4
—
Birthday of Buddha Sakyamuni
15.4
—
Vesak Day
28.4
—
Birthday of Yao-Wang P'ua (Bhaisajyaraja Bodhisattva)
3.6
—
Birthday of Wei-to
10.6
—
Birthday of Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava)
19.6
—
Enlightenment Day of Kuan Shih Yin P'usa
13.7
—
Birthday of Ta-Shih Chi P'sua
15.7
—
Yu-lan-pen (Ullambana) Ceremony, for feeding hungry ghosts
30.7
—
Birthday of Ti-tsang P'usa
28.8
—
Birthday of Buddha Jan-teng (Dipankara Buddha)
19.9
—
Kuan Shih Yin P'usa's Renunciation Day
30.9
—
Birthday of Yao-shi Fwo (Bhaisajyaguru Buddha)
5.10
—
Anniversary of the death of Ta-mo (Bodhidharma)
17.11
—
Birthday of O-mi-to Fwo (Amitabha Buddha)
The dates given are based on the Chinese Lunar system so that 1.1 means the 'First day of the First lunar moon' and so on (Buddhist Studies).
"Buddhist Traditional Chinese Buddhist Funeral Arrangements." BuddhaNet - Worldwide Buddhist Information and Education Network. 23 Mar. 2009 <http://www.buddhanet.net/cfuneral.htm>.
Buddhism in China
By Kang K.Buddhism in China
Buddhism's a very big religion. There are tons and tons of people in the world that are Buddhist. Buddhism began in India 2500 years ago, and later spread to many other countries, like China. Buddhism believes that life is full of a lot suffering because people want things too much. The only way to end suffering is through enlightenment. Enlightenment ends the cycle of being born, dying, and being born again. Buddhism's different in every country. There are many special ways that China practices Buddhism like their schools, funerals and festivals.Chinese Buddhist Schools
Buddhism has many different schools in China. By schools, they don't mean a building with teachers and students. They mean different beliefs of Buddhism, like how Catholicism and Lutheran are both under Christianity, but believe in different things. The first Buddhist sc hools are the schools where Buddhism split up into smaller, different forms of Buddhism. Later, there was the Golden Age of Buddhism. The Golden Age of Buddhism happened from the time of the Three Kingdoms to the T'ang Dynasty. During this time, a lot of Buddhist schools evolved their theories based on the teac hings of Sakyamuni Buddha. The two main types of Buddhism are Theravada and Mahayana. They both believe in the main teachings of Buddhism, but they disagree on some of the smaller teachings.
A Tang Dynasty Amitabha sculpture http://www.arthistoryclub.com/art_history/upload/thumb/2/22/200px-Longmen-hidden-stream-temple-cave-amitabha.jpgChinese Buddhist Funerals
Traditional Buddhist Chinese Funerals are really important practices in Buddhism. There are two main traditions that are practiced.1. The first type of the funerals lasts 49 days. The first seven days are the most important. The number of ceremonies done depends on how rich or poor the family is.The family prays every seven days for 49 days, but it can be shorten to from 3 to 7 days. The daughter usually has to pay for the funeral. The head of the family should be there for at least the first and maybe the second prayer ceremony. The head of the family should also be there for the burial or the cremation.
2. The second type of funerals lasts over 100 days. After 100 days of prayer ceremonies are done, the final ceremony is performed. In Mahayana Buddhism, which most Chinese people believe in, they believe that there is a period between death and rebirth. This is an important period that affects what form the rebirth will take. If the family gives the right help with prayer ceremonies, the departed is more likely to have a better rebirth.
Traditional Chinese Buddhist funeral ritual http://www.buddhachannel.tv/portail/local/cache-vignettes/L500xH375/Chinese_Buddhist_Funeral_Ri-dd142.jpg
Chinese Buddhist Festivals
Buddhist Festivals are celebrated often in China. The day of the festivals are given dates that follow the lunar calendar. Festivals are "the holy days that Chinese Buddhists celebrate by visiting temples to make offerings of prayer, incense, fruits, flowers, and donations" (Buddhist Holidays). On the festival days, they follow moral rules and only have vegetarian food. Most of the festivals celebrate birthdays and enlightenment days of different Buddhas.Chinese celebrate Buddhist festival http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-02/03/xin_0320206031614109153149.jpg
Works Cited
The Art History Online Reference and Guide. 23 Mar. 2009 <http://www.arthistoryclub.com/art_history/upload/thumb/2/22/200px-Longmen-hidden-stream-temple-cave-amitabha.jpg>.
Buddhachannel : le portail du bouddhisme, de la santé et du bien-être. 23 Mar. 2009 <http://www.buddhachannel.tv/portail/local/cache-vignettes/L500xH375/Chinese_Buddhist_Funeral_Ri-dd142.jpg>.
"Buddhist Holidays and Festivals." Urban Dharma - Buddhism in America. 23 Mar. 2009 <http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma3/holidays.html>.
"Buddhist Studies: Chinese Buddhist Festivals." BuddhaNet - Worldwide Buddhist Information and Education Network. 23 Mar. 2009 <http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/chin_fest.htm>.
"Buddhist Traditional Chinese Buddhist Funeral Arrangements." BuddhaNet - Worldwide Buddhist Information and Education Network. 23 Mar. 2009 <http://www.buddhanet.net/cfuneral.htm>.
"Chinese Buddhism." Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism and Other Resources. 23 Mar. 2009 <http://www.hinduwebsite.com/buddhism/chinese_buddhism.asp>.
"Early Buddhist schools -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 23 Mar. 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_buddhist_schools>.
23 Mar. 2009 <http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-02/03/xin_0320206031614109153149.jpg>.